SHU.MU =
Rocketships?

Zecharia Sitchin and others who parrot his work insist that there
are rocket ships in the Sumerian texts. Not so.

Sumerian Dictionaries

As I note elsewhere on
this website, the ancient Mesopotamian scribes created their own
dictionaries. Lists of words are a common feature among the
thousands of Sumerian and Akkadian cuneiform tablets which have been
discovered by archaeologists. Many are just groupings of common
words, while others represent an inventory of the word meanings of
the languages used in Mesopotamia. These "lexical lists", as
scholars call them, were indispensable to the 19th century scholars
who deciphered the Sumerian and Akkadian texts, for they were used
to compile modern dictionaries of these languages. Today all major
lexical texts have been published in the multi-volume set, Materials
for the Sumerian Lexicon, begun by Benno Landsberger in the 1930s.
It is indeed a rare instance where ancient dictionaries of a dead
language form the core of the modern dictionaries used by scholars
of today. Such is the case for the ancient languages of Sumer and
Akkad. Mr. Sitchin avoids these resources, which explains why his
"translations" are so odd.

The Meaning of Sumerian “MU”

On pages 140-143 of The 12th Planet, we read that Mr. Sitchin
defines the Sumerian MU as "an oval-topped, conical object," and
"that which rises straight." Mr. Sitchin cites no Sumerian
dictionary for these meanings. A check of the dictionaries contained
in Sumerian grammars and the online Sumerian dictionary reveal no
such word meanings. But why trust modern scholars when we can check
with the Mesopotamian scribes themselves?

In his technical but stimulating study of Sumerian and
Mesopotamian terminology for the cosmos, Mesopotamian Cosmic
Geography, Mesopotamian scholar W. Horowitz lays out the meaning of
the Sumerian word “MU” directly as the Mesopotamian lexical lists
have it. In discussing the meaning of the Akkadian word “shamu,” in
his book, Horowitz gathered all the lexical list data for that word.
What follows below is his layout. Note that the word “MU” in the
left-hand (Sumerian) was among the cuneiform dictionary entries for
“shamu.” A discussion of the meanings follows the entries. Briefly,
“shamu” in Akkadian here means “heaven” (or part of the sky/heavens)
or perhaps “rain.” According to the scribal tablets themselves, the
meaning is not "that which rises straight,” or “conical object”
(i.e., “rocket ship”). This is the verdict of the scribes
themselves, not this writer. The red explanatory insertions are my
own:

The Meaning of SHU.MU (shumu)

Mr. Sitchin goes on to claim (p. 143) that the Sumerian syllable
MU was adopted into Semitic languages as "SHU-MU," which he
translates as "that which is a MU" (by implication, “that which is a
rocket ship”). Allegedly, "SHU-MU" then morphed into Akkadian shamu
and Biblical Hebrew shem. We will consider the Akkadian word first,
and then the Hebrew word.

Does Akkadian shamu come from Sitchin’s "SHU-MU"? Does Sumerian
even have a word that means "that which is a MU"? Contrary to Mr.
Sitchin, Akkadian shamu does NOT derive from SHU-MU, nor does shamu
mean "that which is a MU."

First, Mr. Sitchin's translation of shu-mu presupposes that
"SHU-" is what's called in grammar a "relative pronoun" (the
classification of pronouns in all languages that mean: “that
which”). Mr. Sitchin is apparently unaware of Sumerian grammar at
this point, because the Sumerian language does not have a class of
pronouns that are relative pronouns! One need only consult a
Sumerian grammar to find this out, such as John L. Hayes, A Manual
of Sumerian Grammar (p.88).

To begin his argument, Sitchin quotes the following lines from an
unnamed text (p. 130; why doesn't he give sources?). The text is
most likely from the Descent of Inanna:

She (Inanna) placed the SHU.GAR.RA on her her
head.

She arranged the dark locks of hair across her
forehead.

She tied the small lapis beads around her neck.

Let the double strand of beads fall to her
breast,

And wrapped the royal robe (PALA) around her
body.

Although the word "ME" is not in this text, Sitchin insists that
the SHU.GAR.RA is a space helmet. The object is surely some type of
headgear, as is evident from the statuary Sitchin reproduces in his
book (p. 132). That it involves SPACE TRAVEL is a fabrication, based
on some presumed connection between it and a passage he quotes on
page 136, which describes the ME that Enlil fastens to Inanna's
body, objects which Inanna wears for her journeys in the "Boat of
Heaven" (and so, for Sitchin, space gear or a space suit). Enlil
announces to her:

You have lifted the ME

You have tied the ME to your hands

You have gathered the ME

You have attached the ME to your breast

O Queen of all the ME, O radiant light

Who with her hands grasps the seven ME

Where's the space travel part? That comes with Sitchin's
interpretation of the "Boat of Heaven" in which Inanna rides - the
MU. Inanna TAKES the ME's with her on her trip in the MU. Naturally,
Sitchin's interpretation of the above depends on whether the MU is a
flying craft, which even the Mesopotamians would deny (see above).

The word ME in other Sumerian texts describing Inanna's journey
wearing the SHU.GAR.RA is used dozens of times for objects that are
NOT worn. Specifically, the famous text Inanna and Enki deals with
Inanna's desire to "possess the ME" of Enki. In this work, ME can
refer to: (a) abstract ideas, like rulership, godship, shepherdship,
priestess-ship, the throne of kingship, dishonesty, kissing,
extinguishing fire, etc.; (b) activities, such as love-making,
prostitution, slander, plunder, writing, leather-working, arguing,
mat-weaving, and washing; and (c) concrete objects, like a black
dress, hair, a sheepfold, descendants, etc.

This data is what leads scholars to define "ME" as either
"cultural norms (which can be stored like concrete objects) or
banners that represent these objects or ideas" (see "Inanna and Enki,"
pp. 518ff. in The Context of Scripture, vol 1: Canonical
Compositions from the Biblical World, ed. W. Hallo and K. L.
Younger; Brill, 2000). What would love-making have to do with flying
in a spaceship? Hair? Washing? Etc.! In all, there are 94 "ME's" in
the above text, NONE of which have any clear connection to flight.